Jun 17, 2008

Cologne, Germany - Ford of Europe's business momentum continued through May despite the challenging economic environment. Year-to-date sales in the company's 51 markets have risen by 18,400, to 828,300 vehicles – an increase of 2.3 percent compared with the same period last year.

"Our sales improvement in the first five months of the year reflects the growing appeal of our exciting and stylish range of vehicles," said Ingvar Sviggum, vice president, Marketing, Sales & Service, Ford of Europe. "And with our new models making an increasing impact, we are confident that we will continue to progress and sell more vehicles this year than we did in 2007, despite the challenging conditions in many markets."

Ford finished May with a market share of 8.7 percent in the traditional Euro 19 countries, unchanged from a year ago, despite lower sales of 132,200 units, which declined from 139,100 units a year ago.

When sales in Russia, Turkey and the 30 Ford European Direct Markets are added, Ford of Europe's sales in May totaled 165,500 units, down slightly from 165,900.

In the first five months of this year, Ford of Europe sold 683,100 vehicles in the Euro 19 markets, for a market share of 8.7 percent. Sales in Russia, Turkey and Ford's European Direct Markets added a further 145,200 units, taking the total to 828,300 units.

Ford's success in Russia continues with sales rising by more than 36.6 percent to 18,600 vehicles in May.

The new Focus again was Ford of Europe's top-selling model in May, selling 35,100 units across the Euro 19 markets, followed by the Fiesta, with 25,300 units. The Fiesta was the best-selling imported car in France and in Italy. May sales of the new Mondeo in the Euro 19 markets increased further to 15,300 units.

May was also another record month for the Transit commercial vehicle range in our traditional Euro 19 markets, with 15,700 vehicles sold.

In the UK, Spain and Turkey, Ford maintained its total vehicle market leadership on a year-to-date basis. Ford was also market leader in the UK and Turkey in the month of May.

"We are seeing lower consumer confidence in some of our established markets because of the continued rise in fuel prices and overall economic uncertainty, but that is countered by buoyant economies in other regions, notably in Russia," added Sviggum. "In Russia, industry sales are up 362,000 units year-to-date, and Ford is in a very strong position to grow sales thanks to our modern St. Petersburg plant, where we will increase capacity from September on."